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>> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america." >> they're calling for the gaddafi's supporters to surrender. they converge on bani walid, one of his last stronghold. remembering the victims of 9/11. 10 years after the fateful day, how one woman cherishes her husband's living legacy.

>> welcome to our viewers around the globe. surrender or face a fight. that is the deal being offered to those holding out in the libyan town of bani walid. it is considered an important key to establishing a new order. the rebel forces of the ntc sound increasingly confident about taking the desert town. our correspondent is with the rebels near bani walid and starts our coverage tonight. >> for now, at least the rebels are not fighting. they are singing songs of victory and liberation. they know they cannot yet claim that all of libya is free -- not until they've dealt with the final few pockets of gaddafi resistance like bani walid. one rebel fighter told me he fears that sooner or later, there will have to be a battle for the town. >> what are you waiting for?

>> we will give the signal to enter and fire. we're waiting on the sign now. >>ñ are you ready to fight? >> of course, we are ready. >> are there many gaddafi people in bani walid? >> yes, not all of them escaped. >> negotiations are continuing. some of the rebels are losing patience. they say the humanitarian situation in the town is deteriorating rapidly with food and water running out. the rebels have moved closer to bani walid. their morale is sky-high. they easily outnumbered and outgunn the gaddafi loyalists. they're ready for a full-scale assault with the order comes through. for now, the rebel leadership of the national transitional council seems desperate to avoid a bloodbath.

>> for the latest on conditions outside bani walid, i spoke to him a brief time ago. how long is the standoff likely to continue? >> it could continue a few days. the official deadline for the gaddafi loyalists in the town behind me and down the road and other towns where they're still holding out -- the official septemberis saturday, som 10. the question is whether the rebel forces in the area are prepared to wait that long. some seem quite impatient. they say militarily, they could get in. quickly and win a battle there decisively. they say the gaddafi forces and loyalists are not very many in number. there may be as few as 60 or 70. they are quite heavily armed. they are scattered among the

civilian population. one of the concerns for the anti-gadhafi fighters we are with is that if they do go in, there could be a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire. that is one worry. they are worried if they do go in, there would be unnecessary bloodshed. this is not a very significant town. on the other hand, they do not want to wait for ever. until they get rid of the last pockets of resistance, they cannot say that the lifliberatin is complete and the war is over. >> how bad are the conditions in the town at the moment? >> what we are hearing is that conditions are getting worse every day. one of them describe it as a catastrophe. people have not had fresh supplies of food for about a week. they're running out of food and water. they are running out of medicine as well. it is a dire situation.

they are also saying that the 100,000 civilians are being intimidated by the gaddafi loyalists. the tribal elders are intermediaries. they are talking with the coffee loyalists and anti-people outside trying to broker a deal where there would be a surrender of the gaddafi diehards. they want assurances of safety if they do they down their weapons. those new positions -- negotiations to come to nothing so far. >> how difficult is it going to be for the transitional council to unite the country? >> it is destabilizing. it is very hard to begin the process of negotiation with an government instituting elections by 2013. it is hard to do that if you have these pockets of die-hard

gaddafi loyalists causing trouble on the ground militarily. that is why they need to deal with the problem. on the other hand, a lot of people have died in the last few months. thousands of died on both sides. a lot of blood has been spilled. -- do they really need to have more bloodshed, or can they afford to wait a few more days? >> thank you for joining us. today, british prime minister david cameron praised the libyan people for dislodging colonel gaddafi. intelligence ties between the two countries and allegations of illegal transfer of terror suspects to libya while conducting was in power are coming under scrutiny. our security correspondent reports. >> the ransacked office of the former head of libyan intelligence, inside is a treasure trove of once secret

files the reveal the close relationship between british intelligence and libyan spymaster. the question is whether they got too close. some of the documents are from mark allen. he offered christmas greetings and an invitation to lunch at his office. other documents raise difficult questions over britain's role s. transferring detainee' allegations of british knowledge or involvement in the mistreatment of detainees has already led to the promise of an inquiry. the prime minister today said the libyan allegations would be looked at as part of it. >> we have issued new guidance to security and intelligence services personnel on how to deal with detainees held by other countries. we have asked sir gibson to

investigate the treatment of suspects overseas. they have said they will look at the latest accusations very carefully. the foreign secretary at the time said he did not know about the allegations. >> it is the policy of the government to be opposed to any complicity in torture, ill treatment, or unlawful rendition. >> involved exchanging information about islamic radicals. some documentation suggests britain may have played a role in rendition where suspects are transferred and mistreated. one document relates to a man subject to revision in 2004, apparently based on british information. he says he was tortured in custody. the british government has denied any complicity in his treatment or rendition.

>> rendition is the unlawful kidnapping of people, carrying them across borders, and putting them in jurisdictions where it is known that they will be mistreated. the british government condemns that. that is why it would be so serious if it turns out that agencies that answer to the british government had been engaging in that behavior. >> the jobs of intelligence agencies is to gather information. officials said sometimes that involves working with regimes that do not share our standards. >> we go to egypt where it has been more than six months since hosni mubarak was ousted from power. emotions are still running high. supporters and opponents of the deposed president scuffled outside the courthouse where he is standing trial on charges of having a role in the killing of protesters earlier in the year. we have this report from cairo. >> there is anger and hatred

outside the court in cairo. protesters pro and anti-mubarak demonstrated where the trial is being held. stones were thrown. riot police responded with a heavy hand. emotions are running very high and outside the court in cairo. the protesters are throwing stones at the police and pro- mubarak supporters. the anti-mubarak protestors say that they want justice to be done. ubarak must hang. he was flown in by helicopters. cameras have been banned from the courtroom, possibly to protect the witnesses and impose order. some protesters do not believe

he was actually there. >> this is like a tranquilizer to the egyptian people. there are no public court sessions. the families of the murderers are not allowed in. where is the justice? -- the family of the martyrs are not allowed in. where is the justice? >> testimony has been given by those who were on duty earlier in the year. they said they were given orders to use tear gas and water cannons and move weapons by ambulance to the interior ministry. dealing with the legacy of hosni mubarak is one of egypt's greatest challenges. as the violence shows, egyptians are still deeply divided by the past and about the future. bbc news in cairo. >> in other news from around the world, as many as 750,000 people

could die if the somali drought worsens in the coming months. that is the warning from the u.n. that has declared famine and a new area. tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be east africa's worst drought for 60 years. the pakistani military say they have arrested a man described as a senior al qaeda leader. he was detained in the capital of the province. the military says he had been personally directed by osama bin laden to focus on economic targets in the west. european stock markets have dropped sharply with banks bearing the brunt of the losses. shares in paris, frankfurt, and london fell as concerns grew about high government debt among some members of the eurozone. the current slide in markets began on thursday in new york in response to evidence of the slowdown in the global economy. in paris today, the corruption trial of the former french

president resumed. the former head of state faces charges of illegal party funding during his time as mayor of paris. doctors treating him say the 78- year-old is not medically fit to appear in court. the judge said the trial could go on without him present. if found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in jail. from paris, our correspondent since this report. -- since this report. >> for 50 years, he was a potent force in french politics and on the world stage. jacques chirac was pushing his bill in taking a bold stand against the war in iraq. the elder statesman was portrayed as a frail old man with a failing memory. lawyers to represent him and nine other co-defendants say there is no prospect of a fair trial.

>> the most important person in the trial is not available to be here himself. for this reason, i think this trial has no [unintelligible] >> the trial relates to his time as mayor. it is alleged he embezzled taxpayers' money and created 21 ghost jobs to pay allies from his party. the charge carries a possible sentence of 10 years or a fine of 150,000 euros. that is 130,000 pounds. the medical report submitted is signed by an imminent neurologist. he could be suffering from a condition linked to alzheimer's. it affects speech. there can be memory loss. this effort is often unaware there is a problem. -- they can often be unaware

there is a problem. have the people forgot what he is accused of and how tirelessly he fought to evade this prosecution? >> he is too old and sick. he can do nothing for us know. >> he could not answer questions because of the loss of memory in two weeks? >> in spite of many actions to avoid court, jacques chirac is the first french head of state to face trial since the end of the second world war. it is historic but not as significant as it would have been if the man dubbed "untouchable" finally appeared. >> you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come, working hard on labor day. the message from u.s.

politicians this labor day is all about jobs. less than a week into his new job, the new japanese prime minister is dealing with his first crisis. the storm brought some of the worst rain ever seen in western japan. 26 people are known to have died including one man who drowned inside his vehicle. it is the most severe typhoon in seven years. it involved most of the country's leading many remote communities entirely isolated. >> as soon as the weather cleared, helicopters to the air to survey the damage. towns and villages were flooded by some of the heaviest rain ever seen in japan. swollen rivers burst their banks and washed away bridges. at least one man drowned while sitting in his car. elsewhere, vast slabs of mud slid down the mountainsides crushing houses and the people

inside. several villages were entirely cut off. it was the most destructive typhoon in years. wasn's new prime minister quick to set up an emergency task force. the handling of the previous tsunami and earthquake caused his predecessor his job. some places could be reached only by foot. this man was looking for his son and a grandchild. there was no sign of life in the ruins of their home. >> i can only hope that they will be miraculously found under some corner of a pillar. >> the storm. tokyo. it has now moved into the sea of japan -- torrance. -- the storms. tokyo. it has now moved into the sea of japan. they're warning of possible

further landslides in many parts of the country. the storm spared tokyo. >> it is labor day in the united states. for many, that may mean the last barbecue. for politicians, it is time to campaign. many republicans were in south carolina making their case well president obama chose to trade to deliver his message on jobs. that is the key issue which may decide whether he keeps his or not next november. >> a lot of folks have been looking for work along time in detroit and across michigan, all across the midwest, and the country. we will lot more work to do to recover fully from the recession. i am not satisfied just to get. back to where we were before the recession. we have to fully restore the middle class in america.

>> joining me to discuss the busy day in politics and what we can expect from the jobs from this week is steve kingston. did we learn more about what the president is likely to say on thursday? >> we learned this campaign season already. do not believe anyone from the white house who says otherwise. that is in terms of the way he is framing the debate about jobs. he is talking about democrats standing up for the middle class and republicans defending the entrenched forces. he was to show he has the stomach and spine for a fight. he said he was not scared of tough times. he mentioned a bunch of measures seek has already talked about before by extending the payroll tax cuts, passing trade deals, spending money on roads and

railways and bridges, infrastructure projects that will create construction jobs. there is nothing new there. we did get a sense of wherhow he will phrase it on thursday. he said he would put it in front of congress. the only thing that stands between the proposals and jobs being created is a republican- controlled house. he is claiming that way because he knows the only people less popular than him right now is the republicans in congress. >> his approval ratings are abysmal at the moment. >> his disapproval rating is 50% today. 42% of approval. 2/3 of americans disapprove of the way he is handling the economy. if you look over the last six decades, it is the highest the and implement rate has been in america when a sitting president was reelected. that ronald reagan in 1984.

jimmy carter lost when it was 7.5%. barack obama has 9.1% unemployment. he has a mountain to climb. >> the republicans must be capitalizing on this. >> we have been hearing from republicans in south carolina today. it is a crucial early primary state. mitt romney was the favorite until recently. he will give a speech about jobs on tuesday. two key people not present in carolina today were rick perry who went back to texas to deal with the well fires. we will find out if he performs in the heat of verbal battle. some of city is not the most cerebral of candidate. -- some say he is not the most areva of candidates. we're not sure if sarah palin will run again or not. >> thank you for joining us. this week, the work will mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

nearly three dozen people killed that day. simon turner was inside one of the world trade center towers for a meeting when the plane struck. his wife was pregnant at the time and painfully watched the events unfolding of thousands of miles away. 10 years on, she offers this, a first-person account of that day and how she found the strength to carry on. ♪ >> simon was larger than life. that is the best way to describe him. he was extremely looking forward to having william. simon had flown out to new york. i was seven months pregnant. i was at work. i had one more month before i went on maternity leave.

my colleague came in and told me about it. we stood and were watching the television. as we were watching it, we saw the airplane hit the second world trade center. i do not recall much from there on in. i was. literally terrified. -- i was quite literally terrified. at no point did i think i did not want to have the baby. it was the only thing at that point keeping me going. it was literally keeping me going. there were a number of times when i felt pretty suicidal. i knew that was not an option because the baby was coming. william was born in november of 2001. he must've been about three days late.

people ask if i have had the conversation with william. i have had a thousand conversations with william at different stages. i do not mean that we talk about it every day. he may ask me a question and then it will be another three months. that was the pattern when he was little. he would ask a question, taking the information, and let it settle. now i work with individuals dealing with life changing circumstances. you find yourself being handed a life you had not planned for or expected. the work i do is helping people to a door -- absorb their new landscape and working out what skills they need to help them handle it.

i did want to do something that remembered simon. i also wanted to write out the whole experience so that when william was older, he would be able to read my story rather than the story that played out in the public. >> that was elizabeth turner with her first-person account of the events that change your life. that is one of the many extraordinary stories from 9/11. we will have complete coverage leading up to the 10th anniversary this weekend. you can find more on our website. make sure to check out our facebook page. thank you for watching. we will see you back here tomorrow. ♪

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